Now gamers have been warned not to respond to texts and emails announcing they will have to pay $12.99 (£10) a month to continue playing.

The fake email said game creators Nintendo would “freeze accounts in 24 hours if users do not upgrade”, leading to widespread panic.

Pokémon addict Anthony Di Staulo told ABC7NY he hadn’t slept for days since he started playing the game.

Hilarious Pokemon Go captures

Take a look through some of the hilarious locations people have found Pokemon on the new Pokemon Go game.

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“I would definitely be tempted to put my credit card information in”

Anthony Di Staulo

When asked whether he would respond to dodgy texts or emails, he admitted: “I would definitely be tempted to put my credit card information in if that means it would open the door for me to find new Pokémon.”

Security experts have warned eager players not to fall for these so-called “phishing” scams and to be careful about what information they enter into the app.

The game requires users to log in through a Pokémon or Google account.